‘It’ll cost me thousands’ Chef calls for support after Covid nightmare
ABRISTOL chef forced to close her restaurant after testing positive for coronavirus has spoken of her devastation.
Lianna Davies runs popular vegan pop-up LD’s Kitchen, which started at Chatterton’s Cafe before moving to the Kingsdown Vaults, where her partner Aidan Sinclair is the landlord.
The 33-year-old, who also plays bass for Bristol rock band Turbowolf, started feeling unwell on Wednesday, June 16, before returning a positive Covid-19 test on Thursday.
She managed to rope in staff who she had not come into contact with to operate the pop-up from the pub on Friday, but had no other option than to close over the weekend, and will stay shut until June 27 at the earliest.
Having thrown away the huge amount of stock she had ordered in and cancelled dozens of bookings, Lianna estimates the period of closure will cost her small start-up business thousands of pounds.
“I’ve been so ill I haven’t been able to check exactly how much this closure will cost me yet, but I’m fairly certain it will be at least £4,000,” she said.
“That might not sound like a huge amount of money over 10 days, but for a start-up independent business it’s considerable, and will mean we’ll have to play catch up for the next few months.
“I will continue to pay my staff despite being closed and I need to pay my suppliers soon, so it’s a bit of a nightmare situation.
“Sadly it’s happening to a lot of hospitality businesses across Bristol right now as the rates keep rising.”
The mum of one said it felt like she’d “been run over by a bus” on Friday, when she was at her most ill, and that she suffered cold sweats as her body temperature soared.
She believes she is not eligible for financial support to help her through the 10-day closure because she is a sole trader and operating as a pop-up.
“Of course I understand why I
need to shut but I think there needs to be more financial support for places that close because of positive cases,” added Lianna.
“The margins are so tight as it is and having to close for 10 days means businesses will suffer even more financially.
“I’ve looked into it and it doesn’t look like there’s any help out there for my business – I just hope my staff can claim the £500 test and trace support payments.”
Lianna hopes to reopen her pop-up restaurant at the Kingsdown Vaults on Sunday after her 10-day isolation period has finished.
The Kingsdown Vaults has since reopened, but without landlord Aidan behind the bar as he is isolating with Lianna.